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Tech football notebook: In year two, Hill emerging as Tech playmaker

Texas Tech defensive end Kolin Hill lost his starting job going into this season, and maybe it wasn’t the worst thing in the world for him and for the Red Raiders.

While all sorts of other defensive players have gotten more attention, Hill has a team-high five tackles for loss, a sack, two pass breakups and a quarterback pressure. The junior from Schertz Clemens kept plugging away while sophomore Lonzell Gilmore took the starting job at rush end and junior-college transfer Tony Jones also encroached on his playing time.

“It definitely helped me out,” Hill said. “It kind of humbled me. Seeing other people in front of me and stuff like that, I felt like I had to step it up to be a leader.”

The transfer from Notre Dame started all but one game last season and produced modest stats: 32 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and three pass breakups. During the off-season, he switched from defensive end to rush end.

“It took me a while to get (used) to that,” he said, “but I come to work every day, practice my butt off every day. I’m not surprised that I’m doing what I’m doing. I’m just very confident in myself at that position.”

During Tech’s 65-19 victory Saturday at Kansas, Jones played only a little and Gilmore had to come out with a stinger. Playing more, Hill got credit for three tackles, including two behind the line with one sack, and a pass breakup. The sack and batted pass both came on third downs.

Hill’s also a fan of new defensive line coach Terrance Jamison.

“He’s brought a lot,” Hill said. “He’ll coach you up to your best ability. He doens’t (curse) you all the time. He’s just a really good person to be around and want to play for.”

Broader view

Justus Parker’s fumble-return touchdown and interception Saturday at Kansas meant a great deal to him, coming from little-known walk-on to a key role over several months’ time. However, the sophomore defensive back from La Vernia put it into a different context.

“Coming out here to West Texas, it’s a six-hour drive for me,” Parker said, “and I get about four hours away, all I can see is Double Ts everywhere I go. It’s on mailboxes, on cars, everything like that. So to know I’m representing a huge population of people that just love Texas Tech, if I can score a touchdown for them, it’s an awesome feeling.”

Parker played for 12-2 and 10-2 teams his last two years at Class 4A La Vernia, but had limited options coming out of high school: preferred walk-on opportunities at UT-San Antonio, Abilene Christian University and Montana State. After signing day, he instead decided to go to Texas Lutheran, a Division III program, meaning non-scholarship.

“To not get a scholarship offer, it does diminish you,” he said. “But at the same time, it (angers) you and it makes you want to be better. I looked at TLU as almost like, ‘If I didn’t get a scholarship offer right now, maybe I’m not ready.’ So my thought process was, ‘I’m going to go there and get better.’ “

Parker, now 6-foot and 210 pounds, said he gained about 2 inches and 15 pounds during his year at Texas Lutheran, during which he made all-conference as a freshman.

“I ran zone concepts that I’d never run in high school,” he said, “and gained a lot of knowledge about the game.”

He transferred to Tech after the 2015 season and sat out last year. He also related to Tech defensive coordinator David Gibbs, himself a former walk-on defensive back at Colorado.

Playing mainly on five- and six-DB packages, Parker’s already foiled three opponent third-down plays in the first five games. And his ball-hawking ways — safety Jah’Shawn Johnson said Parker probably leads the team in takeaways during practice — mesh with Gibbs’ emphasis on turnovers.

“Sometimes it just happens,” he said. “But it’s what I like to do, and I know that’s what our defensive coaches like to see, and so that’s what I strive for. I’ve got to do up and above anybody that I compete against, coming from my background, so I know if I can get a turnover or two, it’ll catch a coach’s eye.”

Carter’s chance

Backup quarterback McLane Carter got into his second game of the season Saturday. The 6-3, 215-pound sophomore from Gilmer replaced Nic Shimonek with 11:18 left in the game and played two series.

Carter ran for 12 yards on his first play. On his second series, he completed passes for 6 yards to Antoine Wesley, 19 yards to JoJo Robinson and 32 yards and a touchdown to Derrick Willies.

For the season, Carter’s 6 for 6 for 106 yards. His playing time’s been limited, but he said he’s enjoying learning from Shimonek and Kliff Kingsbury.

“It’s been awesome,” Carter said. “(Kingsbury) know the position inside and out. He knows offense inside and out. He pulls plays out of his sleeve every day. It’s been a pleasure to be able to work with Kingsbury and see how he brings it every day, wants you to get better every day.He doesn’t have a down day.”

Carter said Shimonek’s desire for perfection also rubs off on him.

“If something slightly wrong happens, we reload the play,” Carter said. “If he has a ball that he throws a little bit behind, we redo the throw. He wants to be perfect at what he does. So that’s another thing, just learning the way he works, it makes myself a better worker.”

College football

Who: Texas Tech at West Virginia

When: 11 a.m. Saturday

Where: Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, West Virginia

TV: ESPNU

Records: Texas Tech 4-1, 1-1 in Big 12; West Virginia 3-2, 1-1

Rankings: Texas Tech No. 24 in The Associated Press Top 25, receiving votes in coaches poll; West Virginia receiving votes in both polls

More

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